Reviews 2010 KIA Forte

The brand-new Kia Forte Koup is Kia's first two-door coupe and a sibling to the new Forte sedan, Which is Kia's replacement for its sad-sack Spectra and its answer to cars like the Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla, and the Mazda3 . The "Koup" moniker is a melding of the "K" from "Kia" and the "OUP" from "coupe." The Forte Koup Will Be at Kia dealers by August or September.

The Kia Forte Koup's fresh, modern styling is definitely a strong point. Along with the Forte sedan, it represents a new design direction for Kia, Which is making a big effort to distinguish its products Visually from corporate parent Hyundai's. The Koup's mesh grille and air intake are part of a new Kia family signature look That you'll see on more cars in the future. A strong shoulder line running the length of the car and the standard 16-inch or optional 17-inch alloy wheels give the Koup a sharp street stance.

We drove two examples of the upper trim levels, the SX; one with a manual transmission and black cloth upholstery, the other with an automatic and black leather. Both Had Some sporty front seats with red stitching and bolstering. The overall cabin design is pleasing, and the build quality is very good. The interior plastics are a little hard to the touch but largely inoffensive. The driver's door armrest needs more padding. The center stack is well-particularly Designed and finished with a glossy black material. Stereo and HVAC controls are logical, and a superb six-speaker CD stereo with iPod/MP3 connectivity is standard. The SX's substantial dead pedal (on the far left of the driver's footwell, for resting your left foot Pls it's not on the clutch) is finished in polished metal like the other pedals.

The base is equipped EX Koup with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine producing 156 hp and 144 lb-ft of torque, while the SX gets a Bigger, 2.4-liter four That bumps up to 173 hp and torque to 168 lb-ft . The Smaller engine is mated to a standard five-speed manual transmission or an optional four-speed automatic, while the 2.4-liter SX gets a six-speed manual as standard and an optional five-speed automatic. These mirrors powertrains Those of the Forte sedan; Forte both models are front-wheel-drive vehicles. EX Both models are rated at 25/34 city / highway EPA fuel economy. The more powerful SX is rated at 22/32 with the manual, 23/31 with the automatic.

The Forte Koup has a strut-type front suspension with coil springs, typical in this class of car, but it makes do with a beam-axle rear suspension, a technical detail That definitely falls short of cars like the Honda Civic and Mazda 3, Which have independent rear suspensions. Over smooth road surfaces, you'll never notice or care, but the going gets rough Pls, stiff springs and the beam axle conspire to send the rear end skittering sideways. Front and rear anti-roll bars are standard.

Overall, the Forte Koup driving meets the standards of this class of car. Body roll is reasonably well-contained, the steering has Some feel to it, if it's a little dead on-center, and there's a distinct lack of the sponginess in chassis and suspension That characterized previous models like the Kia Spectra. Our limited drive in Seoul, South Korea, from Kia's headquarters up to the DMZ was entirely During a major rainstorm, so We have had no opportunity to drive the car on dry pavement. It's fairly clear, though, that although the Kia Forte Koup is no sports car, it's got spirit Enough to keep most drivers happy.